Property prices rose 5.6 per cent in just one month across the UK, but this wasn’t reflected in Camden, where slow sales mean sellers are pricing cautiously

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Camden property prices are fell 1.6 per cent from March to April this year, according to the latest House Price Index data from the Office of National Statistics.

The drop is a marginal one, and reflects recent advice from local estate agents that by dropping the dropping the asking price slightly sellers will attract interest.

The average house price is currently £814,188, still well above the London average of £483,000.

Transaction levels are still looking low. The latest ONS data is for February 2017, where only 117 properties transacted in the borough, whereas in February 2016 166 properties transacted.

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The ONS has attracted criticism for not seasonally adjusting its figures to account for the normal patterns of lows and highs in property prices and sales over a year.

House prices rose by 5.6 per cent in the year to April 2017 across the UK. The ONS acknowledged that although this marked a month on month rise “there has been a general slowdown in the annual growth rate since mid-2016.”

In April 2016 the 3 per cent surcharge for second homes saw a surge followed by a sharp drop off in property purchases in Camden.

Some estate agents have blamed the government, both for the stamp duty stall and for failing first time buyers.

Paul Smith, CEO of haart estate agents said: “As house prices rise we continue to rely far too heavily on the good nature of Bank of Mum and Dad, and stamp duty continues to frustrate both first-time buyers and downsizers.

“The next Government has the opportunity to commit to more radical structural changes to increase home ownership levels, especially among young people. However the delay in naming a new housing minister is not a good start.”

Russell Quirk, founder of Emoov.co.uk said that the drop in transaction numbers and lill in both buyer and seller demand was “no doubt a knee-jerk reaction to the news of a snap election.”

He suggested that the election may have compounded the stunting effect of Brexit on property price growth.

“Many UK homeowners and buyers for that matter would have been waiting for the election outcome to provide an air of stability in which to conduct their transaction. The reality, for the immediate future at least, will not provide that and it is likely that the unpredictable swings in house price growth seen over the last few months will now persist for a while longer.”